BONUS: Permit Approval and My First Solo Trip
I wrote this post several months ago but never posted it… so I’m posting it now that I have WIFI and while am writing my next trail post. ENJOY!
November 9, 2021 was a nerve wracking day for a lot of prospective PCT thru hikers. 10:30am, the portal opened for people to put in their requests for their start dates and I had to work. My coworker, who is also hiking the PCT this year, requested the day off to be able to wait in line… I guess I should have done that too, but my people-pleasing brain said, “No! Work is more important!” Instead, I gave my dad all of my email info, start date preferences, start and end locations and said, PLEASE I WAS STUPID AND NEED HELP! Luckily, he was available, so I went to work that day at 8am and tried to keep myself busy. 10am rolled around and the store opened… 30 more minutes until the portal opened. Of course, we were busy and I was fitting customers for shoes immediately once the doors opened. 10:30 arrived and I received photos of a loading screen displaying the countdown clock for when it would be MY turn to apply! Okay, I’m at work, stay focused, stay busy… After all of my customers were gone, I returned to the warehouse to put away unwanted shoe boxes and to check my notifications. IT WAS 11:20! WHAT DID I MISS?!? I had SEVERAL messages from my dad and I started to worry. I opened them expecting to see the worst, “no spots available until late may,” or maybe even, “no spots available at all…” Instead I saw, “0 spots taken for your day!” “I’m on it!” and a photo confirmation saying, “You’ve applied, here’s your code!” I cannot tell you what a relief it was to know that I had been able to request a date. I had heard horror stories of people who had every screen in their home open to the website to apply, waited for HOURS, and still didn’t get to put in a single day on any of them. I couldn’t imagine planning this huge trip for months, if not years, to then find out that I couldn’t get a permit to actually do it. Once I got home, I checked out the facebook group to see what other people were able to request and to find out who also applied for the date that I did. I was heartbroken. There seemed to be more people sad and frustrated than there were excited. I saw tons of posts saying how unfair the system was and how sad they were that their dates were taken or that they waited in line for hours only to find out it was for no reason. I felt so guilty and kind of ashamed that I was able to request the date I wanted, let alone a date at all. I logged off of facebook for the night instead of trying to connect with others and waited for Jaason to come home.
About a week went by and I started feeling anxious about not hearing back yet. The application confirmation states that it could take up to three weeks to hear back about your approval so I really had no reason to worry, I just did. SO, I went back to facebook. BIG mistake. Immediately, there were TONS of posts about people’s approvals and it just made me feel worse about not receiving mine yet. Log off. Of course everyone at work knew I was waiting on my date so they kept asking as well and all I could say was, “not yet.” over and over. Two weeks went by, and then three. It seemed like EVERYONE but me had their approval already, even my coworker. I hit the three week mark exactly, and expected to see an email in my inbox when I woke up, but nothing. I got up, kind of disappointed, and went to work. My entire shift went by without anything. I packed up my water bottle and headed upstairs to clock out for the day when I felt a vibration in my vest… I stopped in my tracks. Could this be…? I whipped out my phone, read the name of the sender, read the first line of the email that shows on the lockscreen, and started tearing up. I quickly raced off the sales floor to read the full email. “Congratulations!” it read! OH MY GOSH! I ripped off my vest and ran around the store showing all of my coworkers the email… I GOT IT! I GOT IT! I called my dad and squealed it at him! When Jaason got home, I told him too, except, in proper Jaason fashion, he responded with something along the lines of, “that’s awesome, you should celebrate by going out and camping by yourself!” Hahaha! So that is exactly what I did. That night, I packed up all of my gear and chose a trail that would be an easy overnight that Jaason could drop me off and pick me up from. Eagle Creek!
I had never done the Eagle Creek trail, so I was SUPER excited. If you don’t know, a few years ago, there was a HUGE wildfire that went through the Columbia River Gorge and engulfed the Eagle Creek Forest. I don’t know what it looked like before, but as of now, it looks beautiful. There are tons of new trees partnered with the burned ones. You could still see the black scorched trail signs where they used to stand. The creek was always rushing below, sparkling as the sun shone like light beams through the trees. It was a gorgeous morning. Perfect. I decided to take it easy and set up camp around 1pm. I sat near the stream, pulled out my book and snacked on an apple while I read. After a few hours, it started getting colder so I ate the chilli I packed for dinner and climbed into my sleeping bag for the night. It dropped down to 33 degrees fahrenheit after the sun went down and I quickly realized that my winter gear was NOT up to par. Of course it kept me warm enough to not die of hypothermia, but I’d rather be comfortable and be able to sleep well. There are still no campfires allowed on this part of the trail so I couldn’t start anything to get my heat up… instead, I did mini palates in my tent to create a bit more body heat. This worked quite well! I was able to get to sleep quite fast. I woke up the next morning, still freezing cold, so I was ready to get up and start walking back to the trailhead. I passed tons of people on my way back and most of them just said, “Good morning!” or “Howdy!” Some people asked if I had camped last night and how it was. “Cold but beautiful, it's always nice to have the natural white noise of the waterfalls in the distance!” “The moon was full so I didn’t even need a headlamp to pee!” There was one couple who stopped to have a full conversation about the PCT and what it’s like to hike/backpack solo. “It’s scary at first because you’re so used to creeps in the city catcalling as you walk down the street. You quickly realize, though, that there are no dark alleys to get cornered in or cars to be pushed into. It’s very common to make eye contact and say hello to people you walk past so nobody is hiding their face or identity. First Aid wise, you just have to be confident in yourself and your skills and KNOW that you KNOW what you’re doing.” Honestly, the scariest part about hiking by yourself is when you have to go back to civilization, or…bears (but bears are rarely the problem, be quiet Steven!)!
Eagle Creek Trail was my first solo overnight trip. It was the most empowering and confidence boosting trip I'd been on. It’s totally different from when you are with your parents or even just your sister! It’s great to have that support with you, but it feels even more rewarding when you know you can do it without anyone else there.
